14 DAY TRIAL // In what has been named one of the worst handled animal awareness campaigns in the history of mankind, photos of Jessica Alba defacing Oklahoma City with posters of the great white shark surfaced yesterday on the Internet. The star plastered the posters wherever she could, including on a charity billboard, allowed herself to be photographed – and is now apologizing for it following massive backlash from the community.
The posters appeared last week, reports have it, but it’s only yesterday that their existence was made public to the entire world. Presumably, they can still be seen at Stage Center, a railroad overpass near Bricktown and on a United Way billboard. Even more ironical is that the photos did not even include a message – just the image of a great white shark, which could have also stood for an ad for a movie or a new game, several media outlets point out, so the vandalism was almost redundant.
For what is worth, Alba is sorry but the fault is not entirely hers, as she reveals in a statement released to TMZ. “I got involved in something I should have had no part of. I realize that I should have used better judgment and I regret not thinking things through before I made a spontaneous and ill-advised decision to let myself get involved with the people behind this campaign. I sincerely apologize to the citizens of Oklahoma City and to the United Way for my involvement in this incident.” reads the official stance of the actress in the matter.
United Way, though, is not happy with being the victim in Alba’s undercover nightly campaign. The organization says that, while the billboard was a donation, it will probably have to replace it out of its own money. Still, “We remain focused on our work rather than this minor distraction.” the UW says. Elvin Mack, on the other hand, the man who appears on the poster Alba ruined, wants the actress to apologize like she means it and to buy him dinner.
“I’m really hurt that she chose me to defame on a charitable organization billboard, she obviously doesn’t know what United Way is... a public apology and some lunch would be nice since she’s in our state shooting a movie!” Mack says for TMZ. Police in Oklahoma City are said to be considering prosecuting Jessica Alba for vandalism but, so far, nothing in this sense has yet been made public.